Fallout's deep SPECIAL system--employed in the RPG versions of the game and used for character development--is streamlined for the console versions; between mutant-killing bouts, players gain experience, which is then poured into weapon skills, combat statistics, and miscellaneous skills, such as bartering. Cuevas says NPC interaction is more than just "accepting quests and fetching objects. You can trade with the town merchant, get a drink from the bartender, sleep with the prostitute, piss off the mayor, lie to the doctor, collect junk for the engineer (who will assemble it into a weapon), and so on."